While we wait for Findegil to finish his draft for the Of the Flight of the Noldor chapter, I decided to post some drafts for Volume III, since Fidegil has as better idea of the draft structure of Volume II.

This is the first draft of the work Ambarkanta.

Our basis text is that of "The Ambarkanta" given in HoME V. Wherever the text is different from HoME V, this is marked by an editing mark.

The markings are:
Amb-xx for tracking any and all changes.

Some conventions of my writing:
Normal Text is from the basic text that is mentioned above (when I change the basic-Text it will be mentioned)Bold Text = source information, comments and remarks
{example} = text that should be deleted
[example] = normalised text, normally only used for general changes
<source example> = additions with source information
...... = This section of the paragraph is unchanged from the source.

Quote:

Amb-01 {Ambarcanta}[Ambarcanta?]

Of the Fashion of the World

Rúmil

Amb-02 About all the World are the {Ilurambar}[Eärambar], or Walls of the World. They are as ice and glass and steel, being above all imagination of the Children of Earth cold, transparent, and hard. They cannot be seen, nor can they be passed, save by the Door of Night.
Within these walls the Earth is globed: above, below, and upon all sides is Vaiya, the Enfolding Ocean. But this is more like to sea below the Earth Amb-03 <editorial addition and is called Ekkaia,> and more like to air above the Earth. In Vaiya ......flow together and are confounded.
Ilmen is that air ...... , but Ilmen is breathed by the {Gods}[Valar], and purified by the passage of the luminaries; for in Ilmen Varda Amb-04 ordained the courses of the <editorial addition newer> stars, and later of the Moon and Sun.
From Vista there is no outlet nor escape save' for the Amb-05 {servants of Manwë}[Ainur], or for such as {he gives}[is given] powers like to {those of his people}[those of the Ainur], that can sustain themselves in Ilmen or even in the upper Vaiya ..... and of the light of the luminaries of heaven.
In the regions of Ulmo ..... Mountains of Valinor it is evening.
But days are otherwise in Valinor ...... mingling of Laurelin and {Silpion}[Telperion] long ago.
The Land of Valinor slopes downward from the feet of the Mountains, and its western shore is at the level of the bottoms of the inner seas. And not far thence, as has been said, are the Walls of the World; and over against the westernmost shore in the midst of Valinor is Ando Lómen the Door of Timeless Night that pierceth the Walls and Amb-06 opens upon the Void. For the World is set amid Kúma, the Void, the Night without form or time. But none can pass the chasm and the belt of Vaiya and come to that Door, save the great Valar only. And they made that Door when {Melko}[Melkor] was overcome and put forth into the Outer Dark; and it is guarded by {Earendel}[Eärendil].
The Middle-earth lies ..... and the ice reached out into {Vaiya}[Ekkaia], and even unto the Walls of the World.
Now it is said that the Valar coming .... hallowed it, and set it in the {Western Sea}[Great Lake] and abode upon it, ..... As is told they desired to make lamps, Amb-07 {and Melko offered to devise a new substance of great strength and beauty to be their pillars.} And {he}[they] set up these great pillars north and south of the Earth's middle yet nearer to it than the chasm; and the {Gods}[Valar] placed lamps upon them and the Earth had light for a while.Amb-08 But the pillars were made with deceit, being wrought of ice; and they melted, and the lamps fell in ruin, and their light was spilled. But the melting of the ice made two small inland seas, north and south of the middle of the Earth, and there was a northern land and a middle land and a southern land. ....... but these straits are filled with ice.
For their further protection the Valar ..... from the shores of Midd1e-earth.
And the thrusting aside of the land ..... But {Melko}[Melkor] fortified the North and built there the Northern Towers, which are also called the Iron Mountains, and they look southward. Amb-09 <LQ 1 {But the}[And other] mountains were the Hithaeglir, the Towers of Mist upon the borders of Eriador; yet they were {taller}[tall] and {more} terrible in those days, and they were reared by Melkor to hinder the riding of Oromë.> And in the middle ...... beside the waters of {Helkar}[Helcar].
But the symmetry of the ancient Earth was changed and broken in the first Battle of the {Gods}[Valar], when Valinor went out against Utumno, which was {Melko’s}[Melkor’s] stronghold, and {Melko}[Melkor] was {chained}[captured]. Then the sea of {Helkar}[Helcar] (which was the Amb-10 <editorial addition ancient place of the> northern lamp) became an inland sea or great lake, but the sea of Ringil (which was the Amb-11 <editorial addition ancient place of the> southern lamp) became a great sea flowing north-eastward and joining by straits both the Western and Eastern Seas.
And the Earth was again ...... lands and waters of old has perished.

Amb-01: This is a debatable change, but I changed k > c per Tolkien's 3rd Age Quenya rules, as this is Bilbo's translations.Amb-02: This passage was written when the concept of "Ea" did not exist. Arda was simply globed amid the Void, and thus the Door of Night and the Walls of the World were visible from Valinor. Tolkien never successfully and completely revised his works to fit with the "Ea" conception, and so Nienna's house "looks outward from the walls of the world" and the stars follow the moon into the chasm of Ilmen, etc. However, since we are using the Flat Earth version, the Ambarkanta is an important document, much like the Valaquenta, and useful to explain the layout of the complex cosmology. We could simply update the Ilurambar >Earambar and leave it, bc as I seeit, the only lore difficulty here with the wording is the Door of Night. Where is this located? does it open onto Ea? or Kuma?Amb-03: I know this is a risky addition, but my reasoning is that Ekkaia is only used to denote the sea, whereas Vaiya is used to denote the atmospheric sphere of air. THis can be debated, however.Amb-04: This is an addition because in the old conception, there was no Ea, and the two starmakings of Varda were less distinct in concept.Amb-05: In the later conception, the Valar and Maiar were bound within Ea, not Arda, and so Manwe's ability to go so high up was unique, but this is no longer the case.Amb-06: This entire paragraph is based on the old conception of the Door of Night and the Walls of the World: what does the door open onto? In MT, Tolkien notes that Melkor was put out into the space of Ea, which the Numenoreans and even the Elves often confused with the Void about Ea. Do we accept this as an internal universe error? or update it somehow to fit the later idea?Amb-07: This concept was a brief idea that Melkor made the lamps out of ice, but this was rejected, and we must update this.Amb-08: The formation of the inland seas makes sense when the laps were ice, but now it seems odd. I am unsure how to change this to fit the later idea.Amb-09: This may not be required, but since it is talking about the formation of the major mountain ranges of the world, the Hithaeglir were not in the old conception, but had they been , they would certainly have been mentioned. I therefore added the LQ description of their making.Amb-10: This is per the change of the names of the lamps, but not the seas.Amb-11: same as 10.

When I saw that your draft included the Ambarkanta as a single chapter, I thought for a time if it was possible. I decided not to include in spite of its importance because it was very problematic to make coherent with the rest. I had included some parts within the whole text.
Now rethinking, I offer an edited version. If we want include as a text per se, this is my proposal.
Sorry for the style of work. Of course, the editorial additions can be improved. I used the text of your draft.

Ambacanta

Composed byRúmil of Tirion in the Elder Days. Written here after the Tale Pengolodh the Wise told to the Wise of NúmenorOf the Fashion of the WorldAmb-02 About all the World are the {Ilurambar}[Eärambar], or Walls of the World. They are as ice and glass and steel, being above all imagination of the Children of Earth cold, transparent, and hard. They cannot be seen, nor can they be passed Amb-02.1now, save by the Door of Night.
Within these walls the Earth is globed: above, below, and upon all sides is Vaiya, the Enfolding Ocean. But this is more like to sea below the Earth Amb-03 <editorial additon and is called Ekkaia,> and more like to air above the Earth. In Vaiya below the Earth dwells Ulmo. Above the Earth lies the Air, which is called Vista, and sustains birds and clouds. Therefore, it is called above Fanyamar, or Cloudhome; and below Aiwenórë or Bird-land. But this air lies only upon Middle-earth and the Inner Seas, and its proper bounds are the Mountains of Valinor in the West and the Walls of the Sun in the East. Therefore, clouds come seldom in Valinor, and the mortal birds pass not beyond the peaks of its mountains. But in the North and South, where there is most cold and darkness and Middle-earth extends nigh to the Walls of the World, Vaiya and Vista and Ilmen flow together and are confounded.
Ilmen is that air that is clear and pure being pervaded by light though it gives no light. Ilmen lies above Vista, and is not great in depth, but is deepest in the West and East, and least in the North and South. In Valinor the air is Ilmen, but Vista flows in at times especially in Elvenhome, part of which is at the eastern feet of the Mountains; and if Valinor m darkened and this air is not cleansed by the light of the Blessed Realm, it takes the form of shadows and grey mists. But Ilmen and Vista will mingle being of like nature, but Ilmen is breathed by the {Gods}[Valar], and purified by the passage of the luminaries; for in Ilmen Varda Amb-04 ordained the courses of the <editorial additon newer> stars, and later of the Moon and Sun.

From Vista there is no outlet nor escape save' for the Amb-05 {servants of Manwë}[Ainur], or for such as {he gives}[is given] powers like to {those of his people}[those of the Ainur], that can sustain themselves in Ilmen or even in the upper Vaiya, which is very thin and cold. From Vista one may descend upon the Earth. From Ilmen one may descend into Valinor. Now the land of Valinor extends almost to Vaiya, which is most narrow in the West and East of the World, but deepest in the North and South. The Western shores of Valinor are therefore not far from the Walls of the World. Yet there is a chasm which sunders Valinor from Vaiya, and it is filled with Ilmen, and by this way one may come from Ilmen above the earth to the lower regions, and to the Earthroots, and the caves and grottoes that are at the foundations of the lands and seas. There is Ulmo’s abiding-place. Thence are derived the waters of Middle-earth. For these waters are compounded of Ilmen and Vaiya and Ambar (which is Earth), since Ulmo blends Ilmen and Vaiya and sends them up through the veins of the World to cleanse and refresh the seas and rivers, the lakes and the fountains of Earth. And running water thus possesses the memory of the deeps and the heights, and holds somewhat of the wisdom and music of Ulmo, and of the light of the luminaries of heaven.
In the regions of Ulmo the stars are sometimes hidden, and there the Moon often wanders and is not seen from Middle-earth. But the Sun does not tarry there. She passes under the earth in haste, lest night be prolonged and evil strengthened; and she is drawn through the nether Vaiya by the servants of Ulmo, and it is warmed and filled with life. Thus days are measured by the courses of the Sun, which sails from East to West through the lower Ilmen, blotting out the stars; and she passes over the midst of Middle-earth and halts not, and she bends her course northward or southward, not waywardly but in due procession and season. And when she rises above the Walls of the Sun it is Dawn, and when she sinks behind the Mountains of Valinor it is evening.

But days are otherwise in Valinor than in Middle-earth. For there the time of greatest light is Evening. Then the Sun comes down and rests for a while in the Blessed Land, lying upon the bosom of Vaiya. And when she sinks into Vaiya it is made hot and glows with rose-colored fire, and this for a long while illumines that land. But as she passes toward the East the glow fades, and Valinor is robbed of light, and is lit only with stars; and the {Gods}[Valar] mourn then most for the death of Laurelin. At dawn the dark is deep in Valinor, and the shadows of their mountains lie heavy on the mansions of the Gods. But the Moon does not tarry in Valinor, and passeth swiftly o’er it to plunge in the chasm of Ilmen, [Footnote to the text: Ilmen-assa] for he pursues ever after the Sun, and overtakes her seldom, and then is consumed and darkened in her flame. But it happens at times that he comes above Valinor ere the Sun has left it, and then he descends and meets his beloved, and Valinor is filled with mingled light as of silver and gold; and the {Gods}[Valar] smile remembering the mingling of Laurelin and {Silpion}[Telperion] long ago.

The Land of Valinor slopes downward from the feet of the Mountains, and its western shore is at the level of the bottoms of the inner seas. And not far thence, as has been said, are the Walls of the World; and over against the westernmost shore in the midst of Valinor is Ando Lómen the Door of Timeless Night that pierceth the Walls and Amb-06 opens upon the Void. For the World is set amid Kúma, the Void, the Amb-06.1 Eldest Darkness of Eä{without form or time}. But none can pass the chasm and the belt of Vaiya and come to that Door, save the great Valar only. And they made that Door Amb-06.2 {when Melko}[in the time Melkor] was overcome and put forth into the Outer Dark; and it is guarded by {Earendel}[Eärendil].

The Middle-earth lies amidst the World, and is made of land and water; and its surface is the center of the world from the confines of the upper Vaiya to the confines of the nether. Of old its fashion was thus. It was highest in the middle, and fell away on either side into vast valleys, but rose again in the East and West and again fell away to the chasm at its edges. And the two valleys were filled with the primeval water, and the shores of these ancient seas were in the West the western highlands and the edge of the great land, and in the East the eastern highlands and the edge of the great land upon the other side. But at the North and South it did not fall away, and one could go by land from the uttermost South and the chasm of Ilmen to the uttermost North and the chasm of Ilmen. The ancient seas lay therefore, in troughs, and their waters spilled not to the East or to the West; but they had no shores either at the North or at the South, and they spilled into the chasm, and them waterfalls became ice and bridges of ice because of the cold; so that the chasm of Ilmen was here closed and bridged, and the ice reached out into {Vaiya}[Ekkaia], and even unto the Walls of the World.

Now it is said that the Valar coming into the World descended first upon Middle-earth at its center, save {Melko}[Melkor] who descended in the furthest North. Amb-07 {But the Valar took a portion of land and made an island and hallowed it, and set it in the {Western Sea}[Great Lake] and abode upon it, while they were busied in the exploration and first ordering of the World. As is told they desired to make lamps, and Melko offered to devise a new substance of great strength and beauty to be their pillars.} And {he}[they] set up {these} great pillars north and south of the Earth's middle yet nearer to it than the chasm; and the {Gods}[Valar] placed lamps upon them and the Earth had light for a while. Amb-07.1 (Moved from above) But the Valar took a portion of land and made an island and hallowed it, and set it in the {Western Sea}[Great Lake] and abode upon it, while they were busied in the exploration and first ordering of the World.

Amb-08 But the pillars {were made with deceit, being wrought of ice; and they melted, and the lamps fell in ruin, and their light was spilled. But the melting of the ice} were Amb-08.1 casted down by Melkor and the tumult made two small inland seas, north and south of the middle of the Earth, and there was a northern land and a middle land and a southern land. Then the Valar removed into the West and forsook the island; and upon the highland at the western side of the West Sea they piled great mountains, and behind them made the land of Valinor. But the mountains of Valinor curve backward, and Valinor is broadest in the middle of Earth, where the mountains march beside the sea; and at the north and south the mountains come even to the chasm. There are those two regions of the Western Land which are not of Middle-earth and are yet outside the mountains: they are dark and empty. That to the North is {Eruman}[Araman], and that to the South is {Arvalin}[Avathar]; and there is only a narrow strait between them and the corners of the Middle-earth, but these straits are filled with ice.

For their further protection the Valar thrust away Middle-earth at the center and crowded it eastward, so that it was bended, and the great sea of the West is very wide in the middle, the widest of all waters of the Earth. The shape of the Earth in the East was much like that in the West, save for the narrowing of the Eastern Sea, and the thrusting of the land thither. And beyond the Eastern Sea lies the Eastern Land, of which we know little, and call it the Land of the Sun; and it has mountains, less great than those of Valinor, yet very great, which are the Walls of the Sun. By reason of the falling of the land these mountains Amb-08.2{cannot} could not be descried, save by highflying birds, across the seas which divide them from the shores of Midd1e-earth.
And the thrusting aside of the land caused also mountains to appear in four ranges, two in the Northland, and two in the Southland; and those in the North were the Blue Mountains in the West side, and the Red Mountains in the East side; and in the South were the Grey Mountains and the Yellow. But {Melko}[Melkor] fortified the North and built there the Northern Towers, which are also called the Iron Mountains, and they look southward. Amb-09 <LQ 1 {But the}[And other] mountains were the Hithaeglir, the Towers of Mist upon the borders of Eriador; yet they were {taller}[tall] and {more} terrible in those days, and they were reared by Melkor to hinder the riding of Oromë.> And in the middle land there were the Mountains of the Wind, for a wind blew strongly there coming from the East before the Sun; and Hildórien the land where Men first awoke lay between these mountains and the Eastern Sea. But {Kuivienen}[Cuiviénen] where Oromë found the Elves is to the North beside the waters of {Helkar}[Helcar].

But the symmetry of the ancient Earth was changed and broken Amb-09.1 {in the first Battle of the {Gods}[Valar],} when Valinor went out against Utumno, which was {Melko}[Melkor]’s stronghold, and {Melko}[Melkor] was {chained}[captured]. Then the sea of {Helkar}[Helcar] (which was the Amb-10 <editorial addition ancient place of the> northern lamp) became an inland sea or great lake, but the sea of {Ringil} Ormal (which was the Amb-11 <editorial addition ancient place of the> southern lamp) became a great sea flowing north-eastward and joining by straits both the Western and Eastern Seas. And the Earth was again broken in Amb-11.1{the second battle} the War of Wrath, when {Melko}[Melkor] was again overthrown, and it has changed ever in the wearing and passing of many ages.'
But the greatest. change took place, when the First Design was destroyed, and the Earth was rounded, and severed from Valinor. This befell in the days of the assault of the Númenóreans upon the land of the {Gods}[Valar], as is told in the Histories. And since that time the world has forgotten the things that were before, and the names and the memory of the lands and waters of old has perished.

Amb-02.1now. There are many problems in the cosmogony left by the professor. This is a humble way of fix them. Why Melkor could pass above the Walls is they are impenetrable? In my opinion we can add “now” because In the beginning of time could be passed, and after could not (except by the Door of Night)Amb-06.1 Eldest Darkness of Eä {without form or time}. As in the beginning of OVatTT. The Void is another matter unexplained. I consider two types of Void that must be explained (in my case in the list of names) The Void out of Eä, and the Void of Eä as the Outer Space out of Arda. But is a matter very difficult even for C. Tolkien. The same explanation would be for the name Eärambar.Amb-06.2 {when Melko}[in the time Melkor] Because is told Vingilot was set there before the War of wrath.Amb-07 and 7.1 per order of history.Amb-08.1 casted down by Melkor and the tumult per update history.Amb-08.2{cannot} could not Because is told is akallabeth that the Númenóreans saw the Gates of Morning from their ships. The Gates of Morning is supposed that were abandoned but was included in the last version of Akallabeth. They must be explained perhaps as an abstraction of the rising Sun? this is how I explained in my list of names.Amb-09.1 {in the first Battle of the {Gods}[Valar],} it was not the first battle.Amb-10 <editorial addition ancient place of the> northern lamp) became an inland sea or great lake, but the sea of {Ringil} Ormal this is very daring but is the only way I think can we maintain the south inland sea. The Inland Seas could be formed by the tumult and not only with the ice of the ancient pillars (in my opinion).Amb-11.1{the second battle} the War of Wrath, I think is better.
Greetings